IB Naruto
by azhure14
Summary: Yep, another AU of Gaara and Rock Lee in highschool. However, they aren't enrolled in just any highschool program, but the famed International Baccalaureate! And neither has enough CAS hours to graduate... eventual LeeGaa.
1. Chapter 1

**The International Baccalaureate program is a two year internationally renowned university prep program, usually completed during grades 11 and 12. 150 hours of CAS (Creativity, Action/Activity, and Service) hours are needed in order to recieve the diploma. Some schools are down right nasty (mine) and make the students do 180 hours. It's not even a matter of doing the time that's the hard part, it's documenting it with journals, pictures, newspaper clippings, and reflections. You can't count hours if you're paid for them. Walking the dog doesn't count, either. **

**Eventual shounen-ai if some people like it. It takes me a long time to write anything. **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, Rock Lee and Gaara would be the main characters. **

"I'm sorry Gaara, but in order to graduate, you need 32 more Action hours in the next two months. I suggest you talk to the gym teacher, Mr. Gai, after school about being involved in some of the intramurals or teams."

Gaara had known this was coming. He had come all the way from Suna to enroll in the International Baccalaureate program at Konoha High in order to have the best education offered. Unfortunately, being an IB diploma candidate didn't just mean staying up all night studying and writing a 4000 word essay, it also meant you had to complete a minimum of 150 "CAS" hours: 50 hours each of Creativity, Action, and Service, all in the name of becoming a "well-rounded individual". Of course, Gaara had no trouble with Creativity and Service, especially since he'd had two years to do those 100 hours. He had an affinity for art, especially sculpting, and he also took guitar lessons. As for Service, he was an incredibly academic student and tutored many of his peers in every subject. However, his week point, as Ms. Tsunade, the headmistress and IB coordinator, had pointed out, was physical activity. Not that he was in terribly bad shape, but the muscles in his back came from carrying his heavy schoolbag to school every day. He didn't have the time or the skill for sports teams, and to be honest, he was too embarrassed by his skinniness to willingly sign up for intramurals where he'd have to run around in gym shorts. Now he was in grade 12, and two months away from graduating with a measly 12 hours of Activity to his name.

"Thank you, Ms. Tsunade; I will follow your advice."

"Good luck, Gaara. I would hate for a great student like you to have to redo a year."

Gaara nodded, not showing any emotion. He closed the door with the plaque "Headmistress" on it behind him, and returned to his Math HL (Higher Level, or Higher Loser as Naruto liked to call it) class. Shikamaru was asleep, like he usually was. When asked why he didn't do any work in class, he'd reply, "I already know how to do it. It's too troublesome to bother now. I can wait till the exam." Most people wondered why Shikamaru had bothered with the IB program, and Gaara wondered how the lazy genius had gotten _any_ of his CAS hours done.

"Psst Gaara, did you get in trouble with the hag?" Tenten whispered from behind him, referring to the way he'd been called to the office earlier.

"No."

"Headmistress' pet." It was well known Gaara was by far the best twelfth grade student at Konoha high, although he was sure Shikamaru could give him a run for his money if he only showed some effort. "So watcha gonna do about those CAS hours?"

"Tenten, pay attention! Shikamaru, wake up. Now, take the derivative of this quartic..."

* * *

The lunch bell rang, and students poured out of the classrooms. Gaara found his friend Naruto waiting for him at his locker.

"Man, I still don't know what you were thinking, taking another Higher Loser class instead of a free. I've already eaten; I managed to convince Sakura to come with me to Starbucks. I mean, sure I had to invite Sasuke too, but it still counts, right?"

"You could have studied instead. You'd make better than a 4 in English if you did that." They sat down on a bench by the back windows. Gaara shifted so as not to sit on fresh gum.

"You're such a geek, Gaara, why on earth should I try that hard? I wouldn't even be in IB if I didn't have a darned teacher for a guardian..." Iruka, the history teacher, was nice but extremely strict. "You should try having some fun once in a while, maybe go out on a date or something. I know that Matsuri girl in 11 looks at you _all_ the time..."

"No."

"Geez, you're being worse than usual. What's up?"

"I have to complete 32 more hours of Action to graduate."

"Action? I had that done first term last year! You should have joined the rugby team with me and the guys, it's loads of fun."

"Do I look like a rugby player to you?"

Naruto looked down at his short, redheaded friend. "...well, maybe not."

"I'm going to talk to the gym teacher after school." Gaara winced mentally at the thought of having to talk to the overenthusiastic Mr. Gai. Normally, he avoided him at all costs to keep from being temporarily blinded by shiny bowl cut hair and brilliant white teeth.

"Well, have fun with that. Hey, you gonna eat that sandwich? I didn't eat much because I had to pay for Sakura and Sasuke..."

* * *

Gaara had hardly knocked on the door before it flew open.

"Excuse me, Mr. Gai..."

"Sabaku no Gaara! What a rare pleasure! What can I do for you?"

Gaara repeated for what felt like the 100th time. "I need 32 hours of Activity by May." He kept his voice as even and unemotional as always.

"Ah, physical activity! The most youthful of experiences! You have come to the right place, my son. It purifies the mind, strengthens the body, and lifts the spirit! Nothing can compare!" The exuberant man paused, mid thumbs-up. "Not that academics are not worth pursuing." He corrected himself.

"Just tell me something I can do to get this over with... please." Gaara added the last word as an afterthought. He didn't want to sound so harsh. The gym teacher was loud, overly enthusiastic, bushy-browed, and just plain too happy to be healthy, but he wasn't a bad person, and Gaara needed something from him.

"Well then, would you be interested in joining hockey intramurals?"

Gaara shook his head.

"Badminton?"

Another negative.

"Swimming? The Track team? Martial Arts? Gymnastics? Weight lifting?"

Gaara's stomach cramped at the thought of swimming. He knew the swim team wore Speedos, and some of them even shaved their legs. There was absolutely no way Gaara was revealing that much of his weak, skinny body. The track team wasn't a good idea either: Gaara may have been a fast runner as child, but he knew he would have the disadvantage now because his legs were shorter than most of the guys'. As for gymnastics and weight lifting, he barely gave them a thought. Just no.

"Martial Arts are fine."

"In that case, follow me! You should talk to one of my precious students, for he can help you achieve your youthful goal! In here!" The teacher led Gaara down a hall next to the gym, and opened a door with a fogged up window.

It was the weight room, and it was warmer than the hall and smelled of sweat. Towels hung on hooks, meant for wiping perspiration off of hardworking foreheads, and a rack of dumbbells lined the opposite wall. There were only a couple students left, because the end-of-day bell had rung at least twenty minutes ago. The most noticeable one was in the middle of the room doing one-armed push-ups, clad in green shorts, bright orange sneakers, and a green jersey. His green headband pushed back his glossy black hair, failing to fulfill its task of keeping the sweat droplets off the boy's face.

Gaara wrinkled his nose. He greatly disliked the humidity and smell of this room.

The boy in green stood up. He was very tall. "Hello, Coach!" Hell, he didn't even look tired.

"Gaara! This is Rock Lee. He has a black belt in Karate, but also specializes in Jujutsu and Judo. As well, he participates in every sport we offer except for swimming!"

Thank goodness, thought Gaara. He's weird enough already.

"Lee, Gaara is interested in martial arts. Anyhow, I'll leave you too to talk!" Mr. Gai left the room as quickly as he had entered, and it suddenly seemed very quiet. Gaara was left alone facing Rock Lee.

"Umm... So, what kind of martial arts are you interested in, Gaara?" Tall, Dark, and Awkward said. He pronounced each syllable very precisely.

"It doesn't matter. Is there somewhere I can sign up for lessons? I just need a certain amount of hours done before May." Gaara had to look up to talk to Lee, and it was uncomfortable.

The tall boy shifted from foot to foot, and looked down at his feet. He said, "I was hoping I could teach you myself... You see, I need twenty more Service hours, or I cannot graduate." His ears were slightly pink, as if he were ashamed.

Gaara was a little confused. "You're in IB as well?" he had to ask. He couldn't remember ever seeing Rock Lee around.

"Er, yes. I am in your Theory of Knowledge **(1) **class, actually. But I took mostly Standard Level courses, which is why I am not in any others..."

The redhead had only one Slower Learner course (Naruto's way of saying SL), and it was French. But still, it was embarrassing for him to never have noticed Lee before. "Oh."

"But I always sit at the back of the class! And you are always at the front. So I am not surprised. Anyway, would you be ok with me teaching you? How many Action hours do you need?"

He thought about it for a couple seconds. Lee teaching him could be awkward, especially when he realized how out of shape Gaara really was. Then again, next year, they'd both be gone to university and would most likely never see each other again.

"Yes, that's fine. I need thirty two hours in two months, therefore four hours every week until May. That would give you more than enough Service hours. And I am only free after school on Mondays and Thursdays."

"Great! That works for me as well." Lee didn't bother doing the calculations in his own head. He was smart, but not very good at mental math. "Today is Wednesday; would you like to start tomorrow?"

"Why not."

"Excellent! Then I will see you here tomorrow, Gaara. Wear loose clothing! Now, I must go shower." And with that, the black-haired boy slung the towel he had been using over his shoulder and went out the door. Gaara stood there a moment, thinking about what he just got himself into, before realizing he was late for his guitar lesson.

**(1) Possibly the worst course IB students are forced into. **


	2. Chapter 2: First Lesson

**Finally, here is the second chapter. It took me long enough. I'm actually much happier about this chapter than the first one, because I feel as though it's going somewhere. Hopefully I'll have the third one done a lot quicker than the second :D**

**Enjoy, and please Review. Thanks!**

* * *

The next day after school, Gaara found himself walking down the east wing hallway towards the door to the weight room, wearing Kankuro's old track pants and a black t-shirt. The pants made a dreadful sound when he walked, a sort of swish-swish-swish. His steps echoed a little in the empty hall, and Gaara couldn't help but notice how big and imposing it looked without the bustle of students. The walls were clean, without graffiti, and the floors shone, freshly washed by the janitors not ten minutes ago. Any dirt accumulated during the day was always gone the following morning. The school was much cleaner and richer than the school Gaara would have been attending in Suna.

When at last he got to the door, he didn't know whether to knock, or walk right in. He stood there a few minutes, unsure and nearly unmoving, clutching the strap of his school bag with one hand and simply looking at the fogged up window. Luckily, the door was soon opened.

"Oh! Hello Gaara!" Said a Green Thing. " I was beginning to wonder whether you were coming. Please, follow me, Mr. Gai said we can use the gymnasium…"

Gaara didn't even bother to reply. He followed a few steps behind Lee, past the men's changing room (Gaara had changed in the bathroom near his locker. He had not even realized he _had_ the option of using the changing room, though he noticed now the place may be an easier and more hygienic choice) and through a set of doors to the gymnasium. The redhead, looking at the tall boy's back as he followed him, couldn't help but wonder if all the clothing Lee owned was green (orange sneakers didn't count). Today, he had on a different jersey, still green because Konoha's colours were green and yellow, darker green shorts than the day before, and what looked to be the exact same green headband.

Lee stopped, and turned towards Gaara, saying, "You can put your bag in the locker room if you like, Gaara, or you can just leave it by the door, not many people are around here on Thursdays…." He gestured towards the double doors they had come in, then smiled a brilliant smile. "Alright! Ready to start?!" He extended his arm, his hand in a thumbs-up. His grin was so bright it rivalled Mr. Gai's, Gaara noted.

Gaara said, "Yes." It was the only thing to say in that situation.

Lee immediately knelt down and starting untying the laces of his orange Nikes. "Most martial arts are practiced barefoot," he explained. Gaara nodded and started untying his own (actually Kankuro's) runners. Lee stuffed each of his socks into a sneaker, and placed them by the wall. Gaara neatly folded the top of one sock over the other, then placed the shoes, socks, and bag by the wall near the door. They both stood up, and the martial arts class began.

Lee started off by explaining that before doing any moves, they had to warm up. He set Gaara to doing ten of the exercises called "burpees"; do one push-up, bring feet forward into a squat position, jump high in the air, jump feet back into a push-up position, repeat. By the tenth, Gaara could feel the sweat in his hair dripping onto his face. Perhaps he should get a headband like Lee's. Only preferable not green.

Once he made sure Gaara had completed the exercises properly, the new "instructor" had Gaara pull his arms first one way, then the other, touch his toes ("Gaara, you are flexible for not having done this before!" exclaimed Lee) and pull each leg, one at a time, behind him to stretch his thighs. Then came the first real lesson.

"Punches," explained the black-haired boy, " start with a good stance." He proceeded to gently place Gaara's legs in the proper position. He had him curl his fingers into a fist, making sure his thumb was on top. This was very important, Lee told him, because if he left his thumb underneath his fingers, he could wind up breaking his own thumb when he hit his target. Then, he indicated that Gaara turn his fist upwards, thumb to the ceiling, and rest it near his hip. "In Karate, when you go to punch, your wrist starts to twist as soon as your elbow passes your body. You turn your body towards the punch, and this, along with the twist, is what gives the strike power. If you had a target, you would try to strike it with the first two knuckles." Lee demonstrated each point of the lesson, and Gaara listened intently. "Go ahead and try a punch, Gaara." Another smile was aimed in his direction, but Gaara was concentrating on remembering everything that Lee had said to him. He curled his fingers, then shot his arm forward, exactly how Lee had described.

Lee was ecstatic. "The punch was very good! Excellent for a beginner!" Out came the grin and the thumbs-up. There was, however, something Gaara had forgotten. "You lost your stance, Gaara, so you lost some of the power available to you. Here, place your feet here, and here, and make sure your hip rotates when you strike…" Without thinking, Lee stepped behind Gaara and placed his hands on Gaara's hips. "Now, try again."

Gaara tried again. His mind though, was on the hands lightly guiding him through a proper punch. He was more aware of Lee's breathing than he thought he rightfully should be. When had someone last dared touch him? His siblings never did, never a pat on the shoulder, no tickling or noogies, and _definitely _no hugs. He never had friends, other than Naruto, who didn't really count. No one wanted to be friends with Gaara. Everyone knew the story of how his mother died because of him, when he was a baby, not to mention the failed attempts at his murder by his father. Even though his family was not from Konoha, both Gaara's siblings had attended the high school before him. Gossip spread like wildfire in this school too. It also didn't help that Gaara had a glare like no other. The look he gave anyone who got too close was normally enough to keep away anyone but Naruto.

But Gaara had let his guard down this time. He must have, otherwise how would Lee have gotten past his defences and actually _touched_ him? This train of thought was thankfully interrupted by Lee's voice, saying, "That is much better! Try some with your left arm now, but I will be watching to make sure you do not lose your stance." The hands responsible for Gaara's mental debate were removed, and Lee walked around the shorter male so that he could check Gaara's feet from a better angle.

The remainder of the two hours passed without any other noticeable incident. Lee had Gaara try high, middle, and low punches ("For now, your imaginary opponent is also your height. For a high punch, you want to aim for where your chin would be. When you actually spar with someone, you will have to adjust, of course…") and also taught him high, middle, and low blocks with both arms. There was a lot of information on tactics to learn that Gaara had not even thought of when he'd chosen martial arts. When Lee told him, "Now, if I were to attack you with a middle right punch, a good option for you would be to block it with your left. This leaves my body open for you to counter-attack." Gaara realized that Karate could be a match of not only brawn, but brain as well. A martial artist would have to predict and react to his or her opponent's actions. It was like a high-speed version of chess, something Gaara was good at.

The last fifteen minutes were spent doing more exercises. Lee was adamant that the only way to improve Gaara's punches and blocks was to increase his strength. Soon, Gaara knew that there were a lot more ways to strengthen the body than push-ups and crunches. One of the worst, in Gaara's opinion, was something Lee called "boat". From lying down, Lee had Gaara raise his legs and his upper back off the ground, then hold the position. When the clock finally read 5: 30, Gaara was exhausted. He collected his things from their spot by the door, resisting the urge to wipe the sweat of his forehead with his neatly folded socks. Instead, he retreated to the locker room, where he changed into his school clothes and washed his face with cold water. Looking up from splashing the cool liquid on his forehead with his hands, he saw his reflection in the mirror. He wasn't bad looking, he supposed. Maybe even good looking, if he smiled. He tried a smile. Not a Mr. Gai- or Rock Lee-smile, just a small lift of the corners of his mouth.

No, he decided, a smile did not suit him at all. It looked wrong, because it made him look almost normal. If he smiled, it would be like lying to the world. He wasn't normal, he was a scary person with a terrifying past. No one wanted to be friends with him. No one, it seemed, except Naruto and maybe, possibly, one track star and martial artist, Rock Lee.

* * *

Rock Lee chatted animatedly to the gym teacher, Mr. Gai. "…he learned the punches and blocks even faster than I did! I had no idea he would be this good a student."

The tall man stood up from his desk, strode over, and gave Lee a manly pat on the back. "Oh ho! Or maybe he has a very good teacher!"

"I hope it is both."

"I know it is so! Now, you must be hungry. After you have showered and changed, we will go have power shakes! My treat, for my youthful student who has successfully taught his first lesson!"

"Yes Sensei!" And Lee left the office with a grin and a nice guy pose, mirroring his teacher. However, he did not rush into the locker room, but waited for Gaara to exit before entering himself. With a quick, "Goodbye, Gaara! See you tomorrow in TOK class!" Lee allowed himself in to shower and change. He wasn't sure exactly why he had made himself wait, but he knew it would not have been in his best interest to see Gaara changing. The mere thought, strangely, made him go a little red around the ears.


End file.
